1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector shielded from electromagnetic or radio frequency interference.
2. Description of the Related Art
The DVI is developed by DDWG which is the abbreviation of xe2x80x9cDigital Display Working Groupxe2x80x9d which was organized by Intel Corporation, Silicon Image, Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., Fujitsu Limited, Hewlette-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corp., and NEC Corporation. The DVI is primarily focused on providing a connection between a computer and a display device through a high-speed DVI connector. The DVI connector ensures all content transferred over this interface remains in the lossless digital domain from creation to consumption. The DVI connector supports not only digital signals but also analog signals.
In high speed applications, EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) is one of the major causes for noise. Therefore, suppression of EMI is highly considered in the course of designing DVI connectors. U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,642 (the ""642 patent) discloses a DVI connector. The connector comprises an insulative housing retaining a plurality of conductive contacts therein. The contacts have front and rear sections extending beyond front and rear walls of the insulative housing. A front shielding member is attached to the front side of the insulative housing for surrounding and shielding the front sections of the contacts, and a rear shielding cover is attached to the rear side of the insulative housing for shielding the rear sections of the contacts. An electrical connection is established between the front shielding member and the rear shielding cover by spring tabs of the rear shielding cover abutting against a flange of the front shielding member. Thus, the rear shielding cover is suitably grounded.
However, there is no enough and reliable retention means to secure the rear shielding cover to the insulative housing, and vibration generated in transport or mating/unmating with a complementary connector may cause the electrical connection between the front shielding member and the rear shielding cover break, resulting in poor transmission of signals.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A major object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a front and a rear shielding members with stable and reliable connection therebetween for preventing electromagnetic or radio frequency interference.
In order to achieve the object set forth, an electrical connector comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts, a front shielding member, a rear shielding member, and a fastener. The insulative housing comprises opposite front and rear walls, opposite top and bottom walls connecting to the front and rear walls. The contacts are received in the insulative housing and each comprises a section exposed outside of the rear wall of the insulative housing. The front shielding member is attached to the front wall of the insulative housing and comprises a rearwardly extending flange. The rear shielding member is attached to the rear wall of the insulative housing for covering the sections of the contacts, and is engaged with the flange of the front shielding member for forming an electrical connection therebetween. The fastener fastens the insulative housing, the front and the rear shielding members together.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in ion with the accompanying drawings.